New Years Resolutions

Every year, at this time, there is a rush to define behavior improvements and new commitments and resolutions to correct everything from weight, eating habits, to relations with in-laws. I stopped smoking 15 or so times as a result of these 'resolutions'. (Till it finally worked 20 years ago)
When did this start and is it done all around the English speaking world?

Reminds me of Mark Twain's line: 'Giving up smoking is easy ... I've done it hundreds of times.'

Snopes.com www.snopes.com has a list of New Year's superstitions. The common theme is that what you do on the first day of the year will influence the rest of that year. So, I am guessing that is how resolutions became associated with Jan. 1.